PHOENIX – The arrival of spring also signals the start of fantasy draft season, which brought 12 experts together at the Arizona Republic headquarters for the historic 20th season of the League of Alternative Baseball Reality. Since its inception in 1994, the annual LABR drafts have served as a benchmark for fantasy auction values in standard AL- and NL-only leagues.

With defending AL champion Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports and runner-up Nate Ravitz of ESPN.com switching to the NL this season, it somehow seemed appropriate that the only person participate in all 20 years of LABR – Greg Ambrosius of Stats, Inc. and the National Fantasy Baseball Championships – had the honor of nominating the first player of the 2013 draft.COMPLET

All offseason, the hottest topic of conversation among fantasy owners has been the historic rookie performance of Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and his ability to do it again in 2013.

It didn't take long to see where the room stood on that issue. Trout hit the auction block first and the bidding immediately took off -- eventually stopping at $42 and making Trout the most expensive player in either the AL or the NL draft.

Yes, it only takes two bidders to create demand, but in Trout's case the experts seem to be believers in his talent.

Defending AL MVP Miguel Cabrera wasn't far behind Trout, going for $40 as several owners took a stars-and-scrubs approach to their drafts. Perennial contenders Rick Wolf and Glenn Colton not only got Cabrera, but second baseman Robinson Cano ($35), pitcher David Price ($27) and outfielder Desmond Jennings ($26) as well. However, that strategy left them with two $1 catchers and no closer.

One of the unknowns heading into the draft was what effect the addition of the Houston Astros to the AL player pool would have on the auction prices. Whether it was the idea of AL teams getting to face the Astros offense on a regular basis or the additional pitchers available, spending on pitching in the AL seemed to be a bit more restrained than in previous years – leading to some owners grabbing a couple of upper-tier arms early and waiting until late to fill out their staffs.

Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander ($32) was one of 10 starters who topped the $20 mark, yet the area in the $10-$19 range where bargains can often be found didn't materialize with only 14 pitchers falling into that tier.

The lack of dominant closers may have also contributed to a greater emphasis on hitting.

Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:

-- Carlos Santana, not Joe Mauer, was the most expensive catcher at $21.

-- Position scarcity sent prices soaring at second base. Not only did the projected top four (Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler and Jason Kipnis) all go for over $25, bidding wars broke out over Howie Kendrick ($18), Dustin Ackley ($16) and even Maicer Izturis ($12). Consider yourself warned.

-- Another second baseman, Jose Altuve, was the most expensive Astro at $19. Closer Jose Veras ($11) and outfielder Justin Maxwell ($10) were the only others to go for double digits.

-- Among injured New York Yankees, Curtis Granderson still fetched $20, while Mariano Rivera went for $18, Derek Jeter for $17 and Alex Rodriguez for $3.

-- The injury to Indians closer Chris Perez ($10) may seem minor, but it made sense to for KFFL's Nick Minnix to pick up Vinnie Pestano ($7) as well. Other closer combos included the Blue Jays' Casey Janssen ($9) and Sergio Santos ($8), the Angels' Ernesto Frieri ($9) and Ryan Madson ($7) and the Athletics' Grant Balfour ($9) and Ryan Cook ($4). Plus, four Tigers relievers were drafted, led by rookie Bruce Rondon at $6.

Finally, all fantasy owners hope to leave their drafts with a few bargain pickups. Among those who could turn out to be very good values this season are new Blue Jays Melky Cabrera ($20) and R.A. Dickey ($18), new Tiger Torii Hunter ($15) and pitchers Hiroki Kuroda ($11) and C.J. Wilson ($10).

On the other hand, Brett Gardner ($22), Kyle Seager ($20), Ichiro Suzuki ($20) and Erick Aybar ($20) may be hard-pressed to return that much value to their LABR owners.